Kupurero
Kupurero, also known as Ghost-singers by Le-Matoran, were an endangered species of bird-like Rahi currently endemic to the forests of Powai Nui. They were famous for their song-like vocalizations, which often predicted whether the near future would see positive or negative occurrences. History Kupurero were created by an unknown Makuta and originally populated a majority of the islands in the Matoran Universe; especially those near and around the Southern Continent. However, they proved to be incapable of defending themselves against many airborne predatory Rahi, and as such their large population began to rapidly deplete. Along with this, many found their songs to be irritating and claimed that they lowered the morale of those who were exposed to them for too long. Some groups were even formed with the sole purpose of eradicating them from certain islands; most notorious was the group that managed to kill every single specimen living on the Southern Continent. The only island they remained on was Powai Nui, thanks to the island's low amount of airborne predators. Here, the Kupurero flourished, finding themselves to be an important part of the ecosystem. Kupurero were popular on the island, even in early times; it is believed that the Po-Matoran tribe known as the Avesians worshipped, as they are depicted in artwork in the Citadel of the Avesians along with 3 other avian Rahi believed to be extinct. After the island grew out of its tribal era, more pieces of literature, including books, sagas, and poetry, began to include the Kupurero, especially those originating from Le-Powai. This caused the bird to become symbolic of the area in culture. After the formation of the Powai Nui Governing Coalition, historians discovered evidence of the species' extermination from other islands in the Matoran Universe. Subsequently, APNWT set laws in place which made it illegal to harm, capture, or attempt to domesticate Kupurero. Description Physiology Kupurero were small creatures, with an average length of .2 bio from beak to tail. They had scarce feathers to protect them from cold and rain, most of which were on their breast and wings. They came in varied shades of green, with gray or white underbellies. Their beaks were short, sleek, and sharpened for pecking into tree bark and their tongues were long and coarse. Diet Kupurero were insectivores and fed exclusively on insects that burrowed under the bark of trees. They were capable of detecting and pinpointing the direction of vibrations caused by insects crawling in trees with their beak. As such, hungry Kupurero occasionally fought while trying to find food, as the pecking of one disrupted all others' abilities to find food if they were close enough on the same tree. Behavior and Abilities Kupurero were most well-known for their vocalizations, which they would form groups 10-40 members strong to produce. The songs of the Kupurero were elaborate, often requiring unspoken coordination between different subgroups, not unlike a choir. Various aspects of the songs they sang could be mapped to words in Archaic Matoran, leading to the theory on Powai Nui that the language was invented to assist with translation between Kupurero songs and Matoran. Despite this, Kupurero did not use any sort of grammatical rules (and likely lacked the capacity to do so), meaning translated songs were fractured and only somewhat intelligible. Rarely, in response to nearby major events, Kupurero would form larger groups of up to 120 members. These groups would sing one of two songs, a "petrichorus" or an "orachorus". Petrichoruses (named after petrichor) were exclusively used to communicate and confirm predictions of upcoming harsh weather. Orachoruses, however, could be sung about anything, and thus their contents varied widely. Orachoruses tended to focus on political turmoil occurring in local civilizations. When translated, they largely resembled debates in which groups of Kupurero shared, argued, debunked, improved, and vetted ideas about what should be done to fix the situation. Often, the songs would end in a single idea or number of ideas being seen as the "victors". The most prominent case of this on Powai Nui occurred after Kupurero caught sight of the Wraith Syndicate, prompting a song which concluded that the Toa Powai needed be formed to protect the island from the organization. Usages Hunting Kupurero was strictly prohibited on Powai Nui and was considered a grievous violation of the law. Thus, its meat and eggs were not legally harvested or consumed. Desperate nomads trapped in the wilderness and poachers were known to have killed Kupurero for food or sport respectively, but all cases resulted in arrest and punishment, regardless of their circumstances. Appearances * The Feral Plains - First appearance; Volume ''VII'' * Against the Storm - Volumes ''I'', ''II'' (mentioned), ''III'' (mentioned), & ''VI'' (mentioned) Trivia * Kupurero comes from the Maori word for "ghost". The word is also used for "oracle", referring to people in classical antiquity who were wise and could provide prophetic predictions for the future. * An incredibly rare subspecies of Kupurero named the "requiem bird" were known to induce severe hallucinations and paranoia in those who heard their songs. Their population on Powai Nui was eventually contained by the Kakkan Containment Organization, which designated the subspecies as KZB-317. Category:Rahi Category:Powai Nui